You play as Princess Peach taking on different costumed roles, like a swordfighter or a detective, each one changing her moves and the type of stage you are on. Every chapter swaps to a new genre entirely, so you are relearning simple controls often. It stays light and easy throughout, aimed more at charm and variety than difficulty.
Gameplay video
More Princess Peach: Showtime! gameplay on YouTube →Ready to play Princess Peach: Showtime!?
Grab a physical or digital copy from Amazon — prices and availability update live.
This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Screenshots & review notes
Overall
Giving Peach her own game is long overdue, and while the constant costume-swapping means no single mechanic gets explored deeply, the sheer variety keeps things breezy and fun.
Moment to moment
Each transformation, from swordfighter to detective to baker, plays like its own tiny minigame, which makes for pleasant surprises but rarely any real challenge.
Art and atmosphere
The stage-play framing device is a clever touch, and the storybook art direction gives every costume its own distinct visual flavor without ever feeling cluttered.
Worth your time?
Ideal for younger players or anyone wanting a low-stress, low-stakes adventure. Seasoned platformer fans may wish the difficulty had more teeth.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You play as Princess Peach inside a magical theater, walking across stage sets built from cardboard and fabric, and the twist is that stepping into a glowing curtain instantly transforms her into a new costume with entirely new controls. One stage might turn her into a swordfighter who parries and slashes with simple button taps, the next into a baker tossing ingredients into a pan, or a detective sneaking past guards and grabbing footprints for clues. Each costume level is short, usually just a handful of minutes, and clearly shows you what button does what before asking you to use it. The presentation leans hard into the theater idea, with curtains rising, spotlights following Peach around, and an audience visible at the edges of the stage.
Your goal in each level is simply to reach the end of that particular staged scene while collecting sparkly gems and hidden ribbons tucked into corners, and every so often a costume level ends in a small boss fight built specifically around that outfit's toolkit, like using the kung fu costume's dashes and kicks to knock a tough enemy off balance. The difficulty barely rises across the whole adventure, and no single costume level takes more than about ten minutes, so a full playthrough is a manageable size for even a young or new player. New costumes keep appearing throughout, so a session almost always ends with you learning something new rather than repeating the same moves.
Because everything is built for a young or first-time audience, older or more experienced players will likely finish stages on the first try and may want the challenge dialed up. The transformation gimmick is charming but stays fairly light on mechanical depth, more about variety and spectacle than mastery. As a gentle, good-looking showcase for a Nintendo character who rarely gets to star in her own game, and as a strong first adventure game for a kid, it does exactly what it sets out to do.